Catch a Falling Heiress: An American Heiress in London Read Free

required time, patience, and forethought. And to honor Stuart’s wishes, the destruction of Van Hausen required that he fall into a pit of his own making.
    Still, by mid-August, Van Hausen’s pit was well and truly dug, and all that remained was the fall.
    Knowing what was about to rain down upon the other man after months of work, Jack wished he could feel a sense of satisfaction, but as he studied Van Hausen from the other side of an opulent Newport ballroom, he thought of Molly Grigg and Stuart’s duchess and all the others, and he reminded himself it was too early to declare victory. When Van Hausen was in prison, then, perhaps, he’d allow himself some degree of satisfaction that justice had been served. But until then, no.
    “Do you think he knows?”
    The question caused Jack to take his eyes off their quarry long enough to glance at Viscount Somerton, who stood beside him. “He knows, Denys,” he said, and returned his attention to the man on the other side of the ballroom. Between the dancers who swirled across the floor, Jack noted the restless way Van Hausen paced back and forth and the uneasy glances he gave his surroundings. He thought of their last conversation, of how the other man had come to him only a few hours ago, trying to explain, begging him for help, asking him to intercede with the other investors. He’d taken great pleasure in refusing, but he felt too tense, too on edge to relive that moment of pleasure now. “Believe me, he knows.”
    Van Hausen paused in his pacing and pulled out his pocketwatch, and as if in confirmation of Jack’s conclusion, his hand shook badly as he opened it to check the time.
    “Sorry I’m late,” another voice entered the conversation before Denys could reply, and both men glanced back to find the Earl of Hayward behind them.
    “Pongo!” they greeted him in unison, and at the utterance of his hated childhood nickname, the earl muttered an oath.
    “My name is James, you bastards,” he corrected through clenched teeth. “Not Pongo. James. ”
    This reminder did not impress his friends in the least. They both gave unrepentant shrugs and returned their attention to the man across the room.
    “Is he here?” James asked, rising on his toes to look over his friend’s shoulder at the dance floor and the onlookers beyond.
    “He is,” Jack confirmed. “And he’s as jumpy as a cat on hot bricks.” He shrugged his tense shoulders. “He’s not the only one. I feel rather that way myself.”
    “It’s almost over,” James reminded as he moved to stand on his other side. “But I’m surprised he’s here. I didn’t think he’d dare after getting the telegram from Nick.”
    That telegram was the culmination of the plan Stuart had first outlined a year ago, a plan that had gone pretty much as the duke had expected. Under Jack’s careful manipulation, Van Hausen had formed East Africa Mines, accepting the funds of Jack, Denys, James, and several other investors to do so. Also as expected, he’d speculated with those funds elsewhere to recoup his other losses, and was now mired in more debts than he could ever repay. Now, Nick’s telegram was demanding Van Hausen’s presence at a meeting of the investors in East Africa Mines three days hence in New York, and at that meeting, Van Hausen would be required to repay the investors or face indictment for fraud and embezzlement. It was that telegram that had spurred Van Hausen’s visit to Jack earlier that day.
    “I don’t think any of us expected his appearance tonight,” Denys said. “Most of the investors in East Africa Mines are here. Who’d have thought he’d have the courage to face us in light of Nick’s telegram?”
    Jack shook his head. “It’s not courage. He’s trying to brazen things out.”
    “But to what end?” Denys wondered. “Given all the stalling he’s done, and the rumors James and I have been circulating since we arrived in town, everyone here knows he’s drowning. He can’t